Lullaby
by Sheryl Nantus
Summary: Sam and Jack find themselves in an odd predicament… again…


Title: Lullaby (1/1)  
  
Author: Sheryl Martin/Nantus  
  
Email: xfdragon@zoominternet.net  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM,   
  
World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for   
  
entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was   
  
intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted   
  
to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not   
  
intended by the author.  
  
Archive: anywhere you want! Helio, S/JD... anyone wants it, help yourself!  
  
Rating: PG-13, UST to the max… but no more than I think you'll see in any episode!   
  
Sam/Jack!  
  
Spoilers: A few wee ones for Seventh Season, but nothing major.  
  
Summary: Sam and Jack find themselves in an odd predicament… again…  
  
It had been a long, miserable week and all Samantha Carter wanted was to curl up for a   
  
nice long nap of about two days or so. Granted, the summit on P6K-801 had gone well with   
  
a variety of promises being made to Earth and hopefully some of them would come through.   
  
But the beds had been too hard, the writing too small and while Daniel Jackson was higher   
  
than a kite wallowing in the political schmoozing she could only think about her own   
  
mattress, her own bathtub and her own space. Teal'c had been chomping at the bit to   
  
return as well, spending more and more time meditating - which involved sitting with   
  
Colonel O'Neill and discussing the various types of water life on Chulak and almost every   
  
other planet they had visited and how to catch them.  
  
So when she had finished her long bath and pulled on her sweatpants and a light tshirt   
  
for bed, she expected nothing more than a few hours of peace and quiet.  
  
And that's what she got. At least until 3:39 a.m. when she woke up, feeling more than a   
  
little queasy and wondering if she had really needed that last piece of Kung pao chicken.   
  
And feeling a hand on her bare stomach. And a warm body pressed against her. And the   
  
slightest touch of a breath on her neck, familiar from an old memory.  
  
Some instincts are impossible to break, no matter how much training you've had. And for   
  
the single female, there is a specific reaction to waking up in bed with someone who you   
  
had not planned to wake up with.  
  
And Sam Carter, for all her years of military protocol and studies, scrambled out of bed   
  
as if her pyjamas were literally on fire. Falling on the floor she banged her head on the   
  
nighttable beside the bed and found herself pressed up against the wall, her hands   
  
searching for any weapon at hand.  
  
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light she found herself more disoriented than ever, her   
  
heart racing faster than if she had Gated into a Gou'ald class reunion.   
  
"Carter?" The squeaky question came from the other side of the bed, where her commanding   
  
officer stood, clutching the single bedsheet to his chest as he pressed himself against   
  
the opposite wall. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"  
  
"Nothing, sir." Forcing herself to slow down her breathing, she got to her feet. "Uh,   
  
sir… you're dressed." She could just make out the thin tshirt and boxers sticking out   
  
where the sheet didn't cover. "As am I."  
  
O'Neill looked down at where his fists gripped the fabric in a stranglehold. "Well,   
  
yeah." Dropping it back on the bed he ran one hand over his head. "Damn it, Carter - what   
  
the heck is going on?"  
  
"I don't know." Standing up she looked around the bedroom, recognizing it more now that   
  
she was awake. "I was asleep in my own bed, and…"  
  
Reaching for a pair of jeans O'Neill turned away from her as he pulled them on over the   
  
boxers. "You better not have doubleparked out in the street. They're great for handing   
  
out tickets."  
  
"You think I sleepwalked? Sleptwalked?" Reaching out for a clean uniform shirt draped   
  
over the back of one chair she pulled it on over her own thin top, thanking her inner   
  
consciousness for not choosing tonight to be the night she slept au natural. That would   
  
have been the topper to this entire affair. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons.  
  
"Well, I sure didn't do it." Flipping on the hall light he waved a hand towards the   
  
kitchen. "I'm getting some coffee and then we can figure this one out." As he padded down   
  
the hall in bare feet he shook his head. "And it was going so well…" His mumbled words   
  
reached her ears, making her both smile and blush.  
  
A half-hour later the pair sat at the kitchen table. "There's nothing outside." Jack took   
  
a sip from his mug. "You must have walked here."  
  
"Nope." She pulled up one foot on the wooden chair, showing him the sole. "Clean as a   
  
whistle. I took a bath before climbing into bed. And no shoes anywhere."  
  
"Okay…" He clenched his eyes shut for a long minute before continuing. "So you were   
  
transported here." Jack looked upwards to the ceiling. "Thor…" His tone rose.  
  
"You think the Asgards did this?" She glanced up for a second before returning to study   
  
her coffee. "I didn't think…"  
  
"Well, neither did I until we met Loki." Rubbing his face hard for a long minute Jack   
  
shook his head. "Well, let me get a decent shirt on and I'll drive you home. Hammond owes   
  
us an extra day here and there, so we'll clock this one down and call it equal." He   
  
paused, taking in the woman sitting nearby. "Uh… I'll get another shirt." Pushing himself   
  
away from the table he tripped over an imaginary bump in the carpet as he stumbled   
  
towards the bedroom. Carter couldn't help smiling, flexing her arms as the material   
  
settled on her skin.  
  
*****************  
  
"Oh, for crying out…" The flashing red lights could be seen at a distance, lighting up   
  
the small street. As the truck slowed to a crawl O'Neill reached over and grabbed the   
  
door handle just as she put her hand on it, trapping her in her seat.  
  
"No jumping out." He said, his command voice replacing the previous casual tone. "Let's   
  
see what's happening before you get out there and get your feet cut up on something."   
  
She nodded, a fraction slower than if they had both been in uniform. Turning down a pair   
  
of shoes or even socks had seemed reasonable at the time, when it was just going to be a   
  
fast drive home on a summer night. But now things seemed to be a bit more… complicated.   
  
Her small street was suddenly alit with a plethora of police cars and trucks, all focused   
  
in on her home. She could only wonder what her neighbours were thinking. Again. It'd   
  
taken weeks after the Orlin "incident" for them to believe she wasn't one step away from   
  
being the newest female serial killer.  
  
A policeman waved them to a stop, his flashlight wavering in the early morning light.   
  
"Can't go any further, folks." He glanced at Carter, one eyebrow rising at her unusual   
  
attire. "Got a crime scene here."  
  
"Yes, I see." Sam spoke before Jack could. "It happens to be my house." She pointed at   
  
the trio of squad cars in her driveway, one parked haphazardly on the lawn. "What's going   
  
on?"  
  
"You live here?" The young cop placed his hand on the truck's door as if to keep them   
  
there. "I think you should stay right here for a minute." He began to chatter into his   
  
radio as Jack looked straight ahead at the house.  
  
"Having a party?" He gestured to the officers coming around from the back of the house,   
  
dragging a man between them.   
  
"Not that I recall…" Her voice trailed off as they watched the group move to one of the   
  
patrol cars; the lead officer opening the door and helping the bedraggled man lower his   
  
head to get into the car. His long dark slick hair covered his shoulders as he ducked   
  
down, his thick arms straining to free themselves from the handcuffs. As the car door   
  
slammed shut Jack let out his breath slowly.  
  
"I could take him easily, you know." He shrugged. "Really."  
  
A knock came on the window at Sam's side of the truck, causing her to jump. O'Neill's   
  
hand moved towards his glove compartment, stopping once he recognised the uniform.   
  
"Ms Carter?" The senior officer rapped on the window again. Rolling it down, Carter   
  
flinched at the early morning air rushing in.  
  
"That's my house." Opening the door she got out, wrapping her arms around her as she took   
  
a tentative step on the roadway. "What's going on?" The sleeves of the oversized uniform   
  
shirt offered little protection as she began to shiver.  
  
"Well…" The policeman scratched his head, taking in her appearance. An I.D. appeared in   
  
front of his face, displaying the photograph of one Air Force Colonel, name of J.   
  
O'Neill. It lowered to show the real thing staring at the officer with a much sterner   
  
expression than the photo.  
  
"What. Happened." Jack jerked a thumb at the house, now filled with evidence gathering   
  
teams wandering in and out.  
  
"We got a phone call about a possible prowler." He nodded towards the squad cars. "One of   
  
your neighbours called the hotline we had set up…"  
  
Carter put up her hand. "What hotline?"   
  
"The hotline set up for the sexual predator in this area." The officer frowned. "It was   
  
on the news nonstop for the past week; pervert attacking women in their homes. We set up   
  
a hotline and sent mail out to everyone in the area asking them to keep an eye out."  
  
Jack interrupted. "We've been away for a bit. Work and all." Stepping around the lead   
  
officer he moved closer to her. "So this guy…"  
  
"Broke into Ms Carter's house here. She was lucky she wasn't there, otherwise…" He shook   
  
his head as the patrol car containing the suspect drove by them. "Last two women are   
  
still in intensive care." He shrugged. "I know you're a military officer, but…" Raising   
  
his clipboard, the policeman made another note. "We did a little bit of damage getting in   
  
there to get the guy, but nothing we can't have repaired in a day or two."  
  
"Where did you find him?" Carter's voice was low and balanced.  
  
"He was in your bedroom." The pen scratched another line. "Funny thing, he must have   
  
thought you were home. Probably waited until dark and just bided his time."  
  
"Yeah. Funny thing." Turning around she got back in the truck, leaving O'Neill behind.  
  
"She going to be okay?" The cop asked. "I mean, if she wants anything we can get it for   
  
her or go in with her…"  
  
"She's fine." Jack pulled a business card out of his wallet. "Call here if you need   
  
anything from her, otherwise just let us know when she can come back." Stepping around   
  
the truck he got in, putting it in gear and reversing out of the crime scene.  
  
The drive home was fast and quiet, the Colonel's knuckles white where they gripped the   
  
steering wheel; matching the Major's face. As they pulled into the driveway Carter hopped   
  
out, gripping her stomach. Turning to one side she began to retch into the bushes that   
  
ran along each side of the lane, bent almost double with the exertion.  
  
Slamming his door shut Jack walked around to the other side of the truck, putting his   
  
hand on her back as she continued to choke and cough dryly, rubbing the light fabric in   
  
small circles. "It's okay, Carter…" He sighed. "Nothing happened."  
  
Waving him off she stood up, wavering on her feet. "But it could have…" Sam shook her   
  
head. "Oh, God…"   
  
"Let's get inside." Not waiting for her response Jack put one hand around her waist, the   
  
other on her arm as he marshalled her up the driveway and into his house. Closing the   
  
door behind them he led her to the living room they had just left, ushering her down on   
  
to the couch. She let her head fall back onto the cushions, her eyes closed.  
  
"Stay. There." He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her alone. Dipping a clean   
  
washcloth into the sink he ran cold water over it, trying to avoid catching a glimpse of   
  
himself in the mirror.  
  
Walking back into the living room he sat down beside her, wiping her face. "Good thing I   
  
didn't make us breakfast. Be a waste of some perfectly good food."  
  
She smiled, keeping her eyes shut. "Trust you to find a bright side to all this."  
  
"Well, there was the part about waking up to find you in my bed…" He tried to smile,   
  
managing something between a grin and a smirk.   
  
"So what happened?" Taking the cloth from him she put it on her leg, feeling the moisture   
  
begin to seep through the light fabric as she stripped the uniform shirt off and tossing   
  
it to one side.   
  
"Well, I can't be certain but I'd say that Thor definitely had something to do with   
  
this." As if on cue, a bright light flashed in an empty corner of the room, familiar to   
  
the two of them.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill; Major Carter." The Asgardian hovered just above the floor, sitting in   
  
his usual chair. "I apologise for not coming sooner to explain, but other matters needed   
  
my attention."  
  
Sam dabbed at her forehead with the damp cloth. "I suppose I should thank you, but…"  
  
"It was never our intention to alarm you and I apologise for that." Thor turned his face   
  
towards Jack. "It has been our custom to monitor SG-1 when in the area to provide a   
  
degree of extra protection for our allies."  
  
"And you didn't think of telling us?" Jack's tone rose a fraction. "And what do you mean   
  
by 'monitoring'? Are you spying on us?"  
  
"I guess you could say that, to a certain degree." Thor's own tone remained unchanged.   
  
"When we have a ship in the area it is standard procedure to locate all SG-1 members and   
  
maintain surveillance on them until out of range." He nodded towards Sam. "We detected   
  
the intruder and had to act before you were harmed."  
  
"So you transported me into Colonel O'Neill's bed?" Her voice rose a few degrees from   
  
polite and civil to almost angry command level.  
  
"We had to make sure you were secure and safe." The Asgardian tilted his head to one   
  
side. "It was a logical assumption that the safest place at this time was in the   
  
Colonel's presence."  
  
"Ah… I see." Jack's eyebrows rose. "Good thing Daniel's not in a high-crime district."  
  
"We could not send you to a police station and risk discovery." Thor continued. "And   
  
while the SGC was an option, I decided this was a better choice." He paused, his mouth   
  
turning upward in what could almost pass for an Asgardian smile. "Dr. Jackson, while   
  
important to you, does not exactly qualify for the same treatment. I believe we would   
  
have transported him elsewhere, were he in the same danger."  
  
"Thank you." Leaning forward, Sam wiped her face again. "I'm just a little shaky from   
  
this entire thing."  
  
"Understandable." Thor nodded again. "Although we do not involve ourselves in Terran   
  
events, we could not sit by and allow you to be harmed."  
  
"Well, thanks." Jack looked at her, then back to the Asgardian. "But how much…" He   
  
stopped as the bright light appeared again, removing Thor from their view. "I really,   
  
really hate never being able to finish a conversation with him, you know."  
  
Dropping the cloth on the carpet floor Sam leaned forward, resting her elbows on her   
  
knees as she covered her face with her hands. His hand hovered over her for a second then   
  
he picked up the washcloth and walked into the kitchen.  
  
"I'll make some more coffee."   
  
"No, it's okay." She appeared behind him, her arms wrapped around herself as she shifted   
  
from one foot to the other. "I just need to get some sleep, I think."   
  
"Sure. I'll call Hammond and give him the info - let him know we won't be in today. And   
  
to check and make sure no one else got 'relocated' suddenly." He replied, seeing her turn   
  
and walk down the corridor to the bedroom before he had finished talking.  
  
"I hate this." Jack announced to the empty room, reaching for the phone.  
  
The bedroom was almost familiar now, the bed no longer a threat but offering comfort.   
  
Climbing up onto the mattess Sam wrapped her arms around a pillow, inhaling a man's scent   
  
as she closed her eyes. She wasn't physically tired, but emotionally… it's one thing to   
  
be facing down a Jaffa patrol with a P-90 and her teammates beside her, another to be   
  
threatened in her own house; in her own bedroom.  
  
"Here." Her eyes flashed open to see Jack squatting down beside her, a glass of water in   
  
one hand and a pair of aspirin in the other. "Don't tell me you don't need these."  
  
Propping herself up on one elbow she swallowed the pills, draining the glass. "Thanks."  
  
"I just got off the phone with Hammond. He's cool with everything - well, not the entire   
  
Asgard spying thing but he's just glad you're safe."  
  
Sam nodded, staring at the bottom of the glass. "I would have been fine, you know. I am   
  
qualified in…"  
  
Taking the glass from her he waved a hand in the air. "Hey, you don't need to sell me on   
  
your credentials. I know you can kick butt. I've seen it."  
  
Flopping back onto the pillow she stared at the ceiling. "Then why does everyone think I   
  
need saving?"  
  
"Who's 'everyone'?" Moving up to sit on the edge of the bed O'Neill put the glass on the   
  
nighttable. "If you mean Thor, well… this is the same fella who asked you for your   
  
'strange ideas' that ended up saving their butts more than once." His fingers smoothed   
  
out a wrinkle in the sheet, dangerously close to her hand. "They think we're constantly   
  
in need of saving, if you hadn't noticed. Not that they'll ever give us anything…"  
  
"I guess so." Sam rubbed her forehead. "I'm probably just overreacting…"  
  
"Well, it's been a busy night." Reaching over he grabbed the edge of the sheet he had   
  
been using previously for defence, tugging it over her. "Just get some sleep for now.   
  
Hammond'll want a debrief when we get back." He chuckled. "But I think we'll tell them   
  
you showed up on my couch, okay?"  
  
"That may be the best approach." She mumbled, her eyes half-shut. "I don't think the SGC   
  
is ready for the Asgardian dating game." Her hand touched his, pressing it into the bed.   
  
"You'll need some sleep too."  
  
"I…" He gestured with his free hand towards the hallway. "Couch works fine for me.   
  
Really. Passed out on it a lot."  
  
"Colonel…" Carter yawned, turning onto her side to face the nighttable, releasing his   
  
hand. "Whatever works for you. Just stay within yelling distance, then."  
  
Closing her eyes she felt the weariness start to drain her, stealing the energy from her   
  
bones as the situation finally sank in. She could hear footsteps moving around the bed,   
  
towards the hall…  
  
Back around the bed to the opposide side, the mattress sinking under the weight of a   
  
second person. His back pressed against hers, the warmth sending a shiver down her spine.   
  
Fingers touched her hip, retreating after a brief caress.  
  
"Yell if you need me." The soft voice mumbled.  
  
"Will do."   
  
"And next time, Thor…" O'Neill looked upwards. "Less clothing, please."  
  
The answering snort from the opposite side of the bed brought a smile to his face as he   
  
closed his eyes.  
  
----------------------the end---------------------- 


End file.
